#3 Never mess up with consistency

The whole week I was so excited anticipating our Friday night, we planned to watch TENET, Christopher Nolan's last movie.

For those who haven't had the chance to watch it yet, it belongs to the small collection of films that challenge your brain, open your mind and bring you deep into the unknown. In other words, you have to watch it more than once to grasp everything that it is has to offer.
This movie has one of the most complex (if not the most) scenarios in cinematic history. You might be bewildered by it, especially with its complex timeline that keeps shifting and reversing along the way.

Hold up! Why am I talking to you about this movie?
It’s simple: It highlighted (like no other - and in spite of itself) a huge component of Achievement.

"How is this possible?" I violently blurted out, shortly after starting the movie.

Contrary to what you might assume (yes, for those who already watched it, I’m making an assumption about your assumptions) my hostile disbelief wasn’t due to the crazy science-fictional concept of “inverted entropy.” No.
I had no problem believing in bullets that return to their weapons from dead bodies and parallel time-worlds.
Unexpectedly, the trigger was elsewhere.
At some point, the hero is torn between saving the world with its 6 billion people (which is, by the way, officially his mission) and ONE woman’s life.

Seriously??!!

I’m not buying it.
Again, “I have no problem believing in bullets that return to their weapons from dead bodies and parallel time-worlds” (funny to quote oneself), but I don’t believe this hesitation that simply makes no sense.

-NO SENSE-
We are not in a James Bond movie here…

-NO SENSE-
… nor in a movie featuring Bruce Willis.

-NO SENSE-
Let’s even play devil’s advocate here: Maybe this is a testament to the power of Love with a capital ‘L’. But wait, get this, the hero had no connection to her whatsoever, not even a crush...

This minor inconsistency completely ruined my experience and disconnected me from its magic. (And because I couldn’t stop complaining about it, I also ruined my friend’s viewing experience - sorry Martin.)

All of the creative, incredible work and novelty that went into the storyline just blew up in a couple of minutes.
The 200 Million+ dollars they invested to build this customer-audience-experience…  whoosh, gone!

All of us have a different sense of coherence, and I admit mine is certainly very sensitive.
But, I bet that you have already experienced this same feeling, wondering “How is this possible?” or “That doesn’t make sense.” And you know that once this crosses your mind, something has shifted and most of the time it is impossible to come back.

Now, consider yourself not as a spectator but as the film director.
How do you nurture consistency;

• In the conception of your new products and services?
• In your behavior today with your partner and kids?
• In the way you present yourself for that job interview?
• In the speech you give to inspire and get the most out of your team?
• In the story you tell yourself every day to achieve your goals?
• In the map out of your career transition?
• In the advice you give to your best friend going through a divorce?
• In the design of your customers experiences?
• In the next email you send?
• In the unfolding of your current days regarding where you want to be in 5 years?
• …

Think about it this way. Because when coherence is missing, you take the risk of losing people, and ultimately yourself.
Coherence creates trust.
And trust is the cement you can build on unshakeable connections.
No achievement can be built on quicksand.
Take it seriously, and consider every detail in your power to be an agent of CONSISTENCY.